CVE-2021-22134

Document-existence disclosure via unrefreshed get requests

Published Mar 8, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Incorrect authorization in Elastic Elasticsearch after 7.6.0 and before 7.11.0 allows remote authenticated users to infer restricted content. When Document or Field Level Security is enabled, a get request against a recently updated, unrefreshed document fails to apply its access permissions correctly and reveals the existence of documents and fields. Exploitation requires a valid low-privilege account and knowledge of the target document ID; disclosure is limited to existence metadata rather than document contents.

CVSS severity2.6
Low
EPSS probability1.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in Elastic Elasticsearch after 7.6.0 and before 7.11.0 allows remote authenticated users to infer restricted content. When Document or Field Level Security is enabled, a get request against a recently updated, unrefreshed document fails to apply its access permissions correctly and reveals the existence of documents and fields. Exploitation requires a valid low-privilege account and knowledge of the target document ID; disclosure is limited to existence metadata rather than document contents.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-22134
Published
Mar 8, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Elastic
Product
Elasticsearch
Classifications
CWE-863, CWE-200, T1213
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=after 7.6.0 and before 7.11.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Elastic · Elasticsearchversion=after 7.6.0 and before 7.11.0

Published CVSS scores

4.3NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
4.0NISTAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N
2.6ElasticCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
T1213Data from Information Repositories

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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